


Finding Sunshine

by PinkLassie



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: 5 Things, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-02-15
Packaged: 2018-05-18 02:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5895301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkLassie/pseuds/PinkLassie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Felicity meets Oliver Queen for the first time on a Saturday morning and the Vigilante saves her life that very same night.  Over the next few days she meets again with with Oliver in the day and the Vigilante at night. She is insanely attracted to Oliver and almost overwhelmingly intrigued by the Vigilante.</p><p>In other words, the 5 times Felicity meets Oliver or the Vigilante before she realizes they are one an the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One - Felicity Meets Oliver

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I would try my hand at a 5 times story. 
> 
> All mistakes are mine.
> 
> I obviously do not own Arrow.

Felicity loved coffee, it was no secret. She knew this was common knowledge among all of her friends and acquaintances to almost the point of ridiculousness. One year, for her birthday, all gifts she received had been coffee related, several travel mugs stuffed with various flavors of instant coffees, a gorgeous and gigantic mug (she could almost wear it as a hat), a membership to a coffee of the month club, and truly an almost countless amount of gift cards to Grind it Out, her favorite coffee house.

So, it was no secret that coffee held her heart, however, what most people, even those closest to her, didn’t know, was that Felicity loved the whole coffee experience. She couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend an hour than to sit in “Grind it Out” with hot coffee in her hand and watch the world go by. Felicity had always suffered a bit from a form of social anxiety. It wasn’t that she was shy, really, more about the fact that her mind moved much faster than her brain to mouth filter, which generally ended with her saying something outlandish and the other person looking on, aghast, blushing, embarrassed or some combination of all three. Watching people go by and imagining their lives and their conversations untainted by social gaffes was soothing to her brain. 

It was later on a Saturday morning as Felicity sat in her usual spot at her usual time with her usual drink feeling the calm wash over her. She had a particularly difficult week at work and this hour long mental vacation was just what she needed, it could be just as relaxing as a massage if she was able to let go of the internal tension that she often carried. She was still letting go of the snide and often overtly sexist comments made by her generally all male co-workers that she had heard this week that she could feel tension rolling off of the man sitting at the next table. She tried to block it out and leave him in peace, but then she heard it. Was that an actual growl? She couldn’t see the man’s face, as his back was to her, and WOW, what a back it was, broad with easily seen muscle definition due to the broadcloth of his shirt stretching taut over his shoulders. “Whoa…” she muttered, she hopes quietly under her breath. She had been distracted by his back for a moment or two, when heard that distinct growl again. 

Did men growl? What that even a thing?

It was then she focused in and could hear the tell-tale frustrated clicking of a laptop keyboard, rapid but uncoordinated. She quickly peeked over his shoulder and could see the evident cause of the growling. The laptop screen was frozen with pixilated lines snaking across the top. 

She was about to offer some help, when the stranger slammed the laptop shut and cursed with both vehemence and eloquence. 

“Generally, no matter how fluently or eloquently spoken, swearing doesn’t have any healing power over computers…and you can trust me on that…heaven knows I have tried it often enough.” Felicity said drawing just a bit closer to the man’s back.

She heard a soft shuffle of breath, almost like a chuckle, or close enough to it. He quietly turned around and Felicity was faced with two very obvious facts:

First: The man was jaw-droppingly, overwhelmingly gorgeous, truly he was beyond all reason. She quickly did a mental inventory of her own appearance and wasn’t at all happy with the comparison. He looked breath-taking in an exceptionally well fitted button down shirt that was taut across an impressive breadth of shoulders and chest. His strong square jaw was covered with the most delightful scruff that had her immediately thinking wildly inappropriate thoughts. It was his eyes, however, that left her speechless, intense blue with such warmth behind them. She, however, had come to the coffee house straight from yoga class, wearing exactly what one might expect someone to wear to a yoga class, capri-length yoga pants with her old MIT hoodie, just for fun. Her hair, of course, was a mini-disaster, tied back in a curly pony tail.

Second: While it took her a moment to acclimate being in the immediate presence of someone so gorgeous, her thought aside from “Guhhh” was “Holy Cow, I know that face”.

“You know my face?” The stranger spoke and she could hear that slight chuckle in his voice again.

“Oh, right, of course, I said that out loud. I would apologize, but truthfully, that might be one of the tamest things that comes out of my mouth in the near future. I would rather save my apologies for the big stuff. Not that I am expecting big stuff…ummm…nevermind, maybe I should just apologize in advance.” She stopped abruptly as a blush crept across her cheeks. She saw a flash of a grin cross his face, which softened his appearance just enough that he almost seemed approachable. “But, yes, I do know your face. You are Oliver Queen. You were all over the news just a couple months back.”

“Now you have me at a disadvantage, you know my name, but I don’t know yours.” The grin had faded somewhat but the softening stayed in his eyes.

“Oh, right...Felicity Smoak.” With that introduction, she placed her hand out, which he took with apparent willingness. His hand was so warm, but it was the zing of electricity that raced up her spine when they touched that made her want to memorize this moment for later reflection.

“It is nice to meet you...Felicity Smoak.” He paused briefly before he said her name. He rolled it over his tongue in a way that was now the favorite way she have ever heard her name spoken. 

“Nice to meet you, as well, Oliver. She said with a bright smile. “You know, I can help with your computer problem.”

“My computer…?” He seemed a bit faraway at the moment.

“Well, I assumed that the frozen screen on your laptop was the cause of your growling and subsequent litany of cursing.”

“Growling….did you just accuse me of growling?” He seemed delighted with this line of questioning.

“Absolutely, I was just sitting over here minding my own business, and I was dragged from my own thoughts by what sounded like a cat sitting the chair next to me.”

Oliver spluttered…”A cat….now you tell me I growl like a cat? I am trying to decide if I am offended or not.”

“No wait, I meant a very manly cat. You growled like a very manly cat…think more Mountain Lion than Mr. Fluffy the house cat. I didn’t mean to insult your manhood.”

Oliver actually laughed out loud at that.

It took a moment but Felicity thought back on what she said and again a blush stained her cheeks. “Oh for heaven’s sake…I am wondering if I should just get “I’m sorry” written on business cards and hand them out as needed. This is really getting too much.”

Oliver was still chuckling, but he seemed ready to let her off the hook. “You can help with my laptop?”

“Ummm…yes…actually I can.” She said gratefully, so happy that they had moved on from the manhood comment.  
Oliver looked delighted as he handed her his laptop. 

She quickly ran through her top three computer remedies to identify the issue. It was when she pulled out her small tool kit from her purse that Oliver made noise beside her.

She looked up at his surprised face. “I think you may be more than just an avid computer user, Felicity.”

“Actually, I really am a very avid computer user, but I am also an avid computer fixer as well as computer builder and all around computer nerd….at your service.” She said with a bow of her head.

Oliver moved a little closer to her as she worked. It took about 15 minutes and Oliver was able to log back in without a fuss.

“Well, Felicity the avid computer fixer, I am completely impressed. How can I thank you?"

“It is nothing. really. I meant it, I really am a computer nerd. I actually do this type of thing for fun.” 

“The least I can do is buy you another cup of coffee. Is that reasonable payment?” Oliver queried.

“Seems fair. I’ll take it.” Felicity said. She smiled up at him as he got up to move toward the counter.

When Oliver returned with another coffee they sat and chatted for a few minutes. He was able to get her to tell him a bit about herself. And he in turn revealed a little about himself. Most of what he told her was common knowledge, such as the fact that had a sister who was almost 10 years younger than him, but it was nice that he shared it himself. While he talked about his sister, it was easy to see how much he loved Thea. His face softened again and stayed that way the entire time he spoke of her. 

Felicity looked down at her watch. She was stunned that over an hour had passed since they had started talking. She reluctantly moved to signal she needed to leave.

“I am so sorry, Oliver, but I have to get going.”

“Hot date?” Oliver looked almost embarrassed when he said it. A quiet flush stained just the apples of his cheeks.

“Nope, just a hair appointment. I am going to the Starling City Feed the Children event tonight. Evidently, they wouldn’t be impressed if I showed up as is. At least that is what I have been told. Believe me if I could get away with going as is, I totally would.” 

When she mentioned the event, Oliver visibly started, but seemed to recovery quickly. She gathered her things and stood up, glancing at Oliver as she did. 

“Felicity, what are the chances that we could continue this conversation some time?”

“I’d say pretty good, considering I work just a few floors down from you.” She said with a smile. She had been holding back the information that she worked at QC. It seemed to have the desired effect.

“What?!?! Are you kidding? You work at Queen Consolidated?” Oliver looked stunned. It was perfect.

“Yep, Felicity Smoak….computer nerd extraordinaire and IT consultant at your service.” She said with a giggle. 

She can’t believe she actually just giggled at Oliver Queen. It is like she is having an out of body experience. 

“It really was nice to meet you, Felicity Smoak.” Oliver caught her hand in his again. That same zing of electricity tingled up her spine. Hmmmm….that is worth thinking about later.

“Bye, Oliver. See you later, if you like.” She smiled at him again and waved over her shoulder.

She could feel his eyes on her as she walked out ending what might have been the best hour and a half spent at her favorite coffee house.


	2. Chapter 2: Felicity Meets the Vigilante

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver still reeling from his meeting with the beautiful Felicity, calls in reinforcements to ensure the safety of those attending the Feed the Children Gala. When things don't go according to plan, the Vigilante steps to save her.

Oliver watched Felicity as she walked out of the coffee shop. He knew he had a goofy grin on his face, but he couldn’t quite find it in himself to care. He had known more than his fair share of beautiful women and while she was certainly just as beautiful as any of them, that is not what kept him talking to her. She had so much more than physical beauty. It didn’t hurt that she was obviously smart and just a little quirky. But there was something about her that called to him on a level he didn’t really understand. He had just spent an hour with her, just talking, about nothing really in particular, yet he never felt better. His shoulders, which usually felt heavy under the weight of his father’s list, somehow felt lighter. Spending an hour with Felicity was like walking in the sunshine. He felt brighter for just being around her. 

Unfortunately, once she was out of sight, he physically felt the brightness fade around him and he was faced with his own cold realities.

When Felicity had mentioned that she was attending the Starling City Feed the Children gala, Oliver had tried desperately to hide his dismay. The thought of her walking into the Gala tonight caused his stomach to knot uncomfortably. Last week Oliver had found intel that the Starling Bratva had developed a plan to use the Gala as the location for an assassination attempt on at least two city leaders. Unfortunately, that wasn’t even now the most frightening part. Oliver’s relationship with the police was tenuous, at best. He had called Detective Lance and tried to pass along the information. He was less than receptive. In fact, Oliver was really concerned that he, as the The Vigilante, would be the only presence there other than a few security guards.

He decided that another attempt to get more help from the police would be necessary.

Oliver had left the coffee house and had made his way to the Lair. He was hoping that Diggle was already there getting their set up organized for tonight.

When he arrived at Verdant he noticed Diggle’s car was already in the lot. He paused outside the exterior door and pulled out his phone. He called Lance on the encrypted phone. The detective answered on the second ring. His manner was noticeably gruff.

“To what to do I owe the pleasure.” Lance bit out, not attempting to hide the disdain in his voice.

Oliver knew the voice modulator was active on his phone, thus disguising his voice. “Earlier in the week, I tried to alert you regarding an assassination plot that is happening tonight at the Feed the Children Gala.”

“Yeah, I remember. I am still wondering where this altruistic streak is coming from.” Lance continued with sarcasm. “I keep wondering what is in this for you?”

Oliver continued, “Detective, I cannot say this more clearly, at least two of Starling city leaders are being targeted tonight, by the members of the local Bratva.”

“I want to know how you know this. I don’t work with men who so clearly see themselves as above the law.” Lance seemed to be getting more agitated as the conversation continued.

“Listen to me. I don’t care how you feel about me or what I do. But this is happening tonight and there are going to be hundreds of innocent people put at risk. I think I even saw your daughter’s name on the guest list.” Oliver knew that pulling the Laurel card would get Lance to do as he asked. He hated to do it. But, he and Diggle could not cover a space that large alone.

“Fine we will add several details on interiors and exteriors and maintain a presence at the perimeter. But don’t think I don’t know what you just did. I don’t like to be manipulated.”

“Just so you know, I don’t like to manipulate. That should give you an idea of how serious this is.” Oliver ended the call feeling a little calmer about tonight.

He allowed himself a few minutes to think about how he could keep Felicity away from the Gala tonight. When she had told him she was going. His mind raced for a way to convince her to skip it. But they had just met, and any type of persuasion would have come off as both creepy and possessive. Neither of which would have been effective. In fact, it probably would have had the opposite effect and just make her more determined to go. He began thinking of ways he could at least delay her arrival, but he didn’t know where she lived or if she had planned on going with someone. Oliver felt itchy with unease. He punched the code into the exterior door and descended the stairs to the darkened lair below.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Oliver arrived early to examine the exterior vantage points. He had expected that the Bratva had hired snipers in opposing vantage points. He had found a perch that was high and removed enough to observe at least three of the most advantageous spots. Dig was on the other side of the building looking two other possible locations. He was much more confident when he spotted the significant police presence at and around the building. So he stayed and alert and watched at the event-goers began to arrive. The event was being held on the 2nd floor, in the grand ballroom of the three story Starling City Municipal Building. 

He spotted her early in the evening. He knew she was beautiful when he saw her this morning. But nothing could have prepared him for how she looked tonight. Exquisite was the first word that came to mind, but even that did not do her justice. Her sun-gold hair, which was tied back in a curly pony tail this morning, was now in gentle wave cascading down her back. She had been pretty well covered this morning, with a college hoodie obscuring any hint to her shape, other than the fact that she was smaller and petite. The red cocktail dress she wore, was the exact opposite. Every curve was highlighted in glorious detail. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying desperately to get his body under control. He watched her move about the room. She settled in with a group of younger men and women with apparent familiarity. He allowed himself a moment to just look at her and remember the feel her brightness when they had spoken this morning.

Resuming his visual survey of the ballroom and surrounding areas, he noticed at least three different beams of light coming from the upper floor above the ballroom. 

“We have a problem”, a voice crackled to life on the small walkie talkie he carried on the front of his quiver. Evidently, Dig saw something as well.

“Did you see at least three people enter the third floor, as well?” Oliver responded.

“Yes. I see three men carrying duffles, from my vantage point they look to be planting something around the upper floor.”

A burst of sick realization flashed into his mind. “Damn it!” Oliver shouted as he pulled out his encrypted phone and his the contact number.  
“This is Lance.” 

“Detective, you need to evacuate the building now! They aren’t using a sniper, they are going to blow the building, a team of three operatives was just seen entering the floor just above carrying duffle bags, they look to moving in a predetermined route. My guess is explosives.”

“Shit!” Oliver heard Lance through the phone. He then heard a stream of orders to begin emergency evacuation procedures. He also heard the wail of an emergency alarm that must have been pulled.

“The evacuation has begun,” Lance added before ending the call.

“Hey Dig,” Oliver returned to his walkie. “Can you still see them? Are they still on the upper floor?” Oliver queried.  
“No, I have lost all visuals on them, as soon as the alarm went off, so did their flashlights.”

He began searching the room for that red dress. In the past few minutes he had lost track of her. He was hoping that she was already among those already evacuated. 

It was just then a small explosion triggered at the northeast corner. All he could do is watch helplessly. It had been smaller, probably more of a distraction to let the failed assassins leave the scene than anything else.

As the dust cloud dissipated around the room, he could see the police were evacuating all the guests most had left the building prior to the explosion. He surveyed the crowd, looking for her distinctive fall of golden waves and awe-inspiring red dress among the crowd below. He couldn’t find her. He continued the survey the room when he spotted her. Oliver’s heart jumped in his throat when he saw that Felicity was trapped somehow in some of the fallen debris. She was struggling to get herself free from her precarious position which was near a large broken exterior window, she was only a few feet away from serious injury the larger shards of broken glass. He acted without thought. He drew an arrow from his quiver and ziplined through one of the large windows into the partially destroyed ballroom.   
Oliver moved quickly, jumping over ruined furniture and fallen ceiling tiles, feeling that pressing need to get nearer to her. He immediately knelt in front of her to gently remove the plaster, metal flashing and other debris that had trapped her left leg. It was then he noticed the long gash that had opened just above her knee and traveled up beneath the hem of her dress. Blood seeped into the red of the dress darkening an area from the hem to about mid-thigh. He looked at her, her eyes wide with pain, but he could also see relief etched in her beautiful features. He wanted to give her a choice, but with the damage already done to this floor of the building and the threat of further collapse, he acted on instinct alone. He pulled her into his arms. 

“I need you to put your arms around my neck. We are going to have to leave in the building…somewhat… unconventionally.” 

The modulator attached to his hood, gave his voice a cold, metallic sound, a bit grating and definitely harsher than his regular voice. But it didn’t seem to bother her. She just smiled and put her arms snugly around him. He was immediately struck with how perfect she felt in his arms. The electricity that he felt when he had shaken her hand earlier today was still there, but magnified. His left arm secured across her back, while right pulled against her lower back to upper hip, ensuring she was safe. He took the few remaining steps to the window, he tightened his hold and leapt out the window.

He felt her increased grip around him as they left the solid surface under their feet behind them. They reached the ground all too quickly. He found himself slightly disappointed that they weren’t a few more stories up. He placed her gently on the ground, mindful of the gash on her leg. He found himself reluctant to let her go and if the continued pressure around his neck and shoulders was any indication, she seemed to feel that same reluctance. With a steeled resolve he loosen his hold on her and allowed her to find her balance and step from his embrace. 

“We need to get you some medical attention. There are a fleet of ambulances just around the corner.” He said quietly determined to see her to safety.

“I can make it on my own.” She said firmly and with conviction.

He opened his mouth to disagree, but she stopped him with a look.

“You just risked your life to save mine, I certainly can walk a few steps on my own to save you being thrown in prison.” Something in his voice filled him with a warmth that he had not felt for such a long time, it was unfamiliar.

She waited for some sort of acknowledgement from him. He nodded slowly. He didn't like letting her walk alone back alone. 

She turned to leave, but stopped suddenly and turned. "I know that thank you doesn't really cover it, for what you did, but thank you." She smiled gently, allowing him to feel that burst of sunshine that seemed to emanate from her. With a final look of gratitude to she turned again. 

He watched her throw back her shoulders and slowly make her way to the police line and ambulances.

The trip down the zip line was actually pretty quick, but it certainly left a lasting impression. One thing he knew for certain is that he wanted Felicity in his arms again and soon if he had anything to say about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr. pinklassie.tumblr.com


	3. Chapter Three: Felicity's Apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We are back to Felicity's POV. I hope you like it. Also, there is a slight rating change in this chapter.

Felicity unlocked her apartment door and waved to the police officer that still waited along the street ensuring that she safely get inside. The officer waved in acknowledgement and drove off. Felicity walked into her apartment closing the door behind her. Once she had engaged the lock she turned and surveyed her apartment.

She found herself shocked. How is it possible that everything looked exactly the same as before she left it earlier this evening? The discarded coat the left over the back of the couch lie harmlessly where she left it. The Wired magazines strewn haphazardly about on her coffee table, and a sole coffee mug left on the end table.

“I should really use a coaster.” She said out loud to herself and then giggled and the insanity of her comment. She stopped when she noticed just a touch of hysteria somewhere in the note of her laugh. She looked around helplessly, fighting with the desire to just throw herself into bed, clothes and all and let the oblivion of sleep remove the stress of the evening. Once she thought of her clothes, however, she knew that a shower really should be the top of her list. She looked down at her once beautiful dress, now torn beyond repair and stained with the gore of her own blood. 

Felicity was seized with the overwhelming desire to get out of her filthy dress. Moving as quickly as her injured leg would allow, she practically tore herself from the ruined garment shedding clothing as quickly as she could gently pulling the bandages away from the wound on her leg before she stumbled into the shower.

She dressed slowly after her shower, feeling the pull of the butterfly bandages that had been applied to her leg. Using the gauze and anti-bacterial cream supplied by the EMTs, she doctored her wound and re-bandaged it as best she could. She looked down at her handiwork and was pleased enough. She made her way to the kitchen, she desperately needed tea and some time to think about her day. She stopped suddenly when she heard a quiet noise behind her.

She turned quickly at the sound, unfortunately, her leg had stiffened and the awkward shift of her balance had her stumbling. He was there with his hands on her upper arms steadying her, before she even knew she would have fallen. He was kind of a miracle. It was almost spooky.

“I’m spooky?” The voice was altered, metallic and harsh. But, in spite of the modulator she could hear the amusement in his voice. After he had steadied her he stepped away.

“To be fair, you are in my apartment and I don’t know how you got in. You jump in and out of buildings like some sort of superhero and truly, no offense intended but you just standing there all….huge and hard looking.” She made a vague waving gesture indicated his entire person.

“Trust me, no offense taken.” Again she heard a chuckle in his voice. 

It took a moment before she realized what she had said that had caused his amusement and buried her head in her hands.

“Frack!” She muttered into her hands. She raised her head and spoke directly to him. “Just for future reference, it is evidently impossible to die from embarrassment, I am living proof. Because if it were possible, I would be dead on the floor right now. I am not certain why I am even allowed to speak.”

She heard another modulated chuckle, the voice disguising mechanism almost gave his laugh a rusty sound, as if it was not something he did frequently.

“I am glad that you can’t die from embarrassment, then.” He said softly, a smile just visible at the corner of his mouth.

“I’m sorry I broke in, I just needed to see that you were ok.” He said as he moved a little closer to her. She noticed he appeared to be looking directly at her bandaged leg. It was then she noticed what she was wearing, or more truthfully what she wasn’t wearing. In deference to her bandaged leg, Felicity had opted for her tiny sleep shorts instead of her usual longer pajama pants. Unfortunately, she had also opted for the matching tiny tank top. She had been standing there for the past minutes in basically nothing. It is like her life is actual parade of embarrassing moments.

“Eeep!” She squeaked as she grabbed the chenille blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders.

He coughed several times into his hand.

She decided to ignore his obvious amusement, considering he was the one that in her house uninvited. 

“As you can see, I am ok, actually you saw the state of most of me since you walked in the door. The last time anyone saw me this undressed was my doctor, six months ago.” She almost to herself. “Which you really didn’t need to know.” Flames raced from the forehead, across her cheeks, down her neck only to disappear under the tank top.

While attempting to get her blushing under control, she didn’t notice that he had taken another step closer to her.

“Can I have your name?” He said as stood, just on the periphery of her personal space.

“Felicity”, she said almost hating the now breathy quality of her voice. Who is this guy, anyway? She has basically lost all motor control around. She is afraid her brain to mouth filter is permanently damaged.

He took another small step toward her, no longer just in the vicinity of her personal space, he was completely inside it now. Holy cow, even her internal dialog said embarrassing things. Maybe she should stop blaming her brain to mouth filter. His proximity drew her back from her wayward thoughts.

She looked up and still saw only shadows, just a scruffy square chin, his eyes completely hidden. He moved just the smallest step closer and she could feel his breath on her hair. He hand raised slowly as if giving her a chance to stop him or take a step back, when she remained still, his hand ghosted over her cheek. His calloused thumb traced the line of her jaw from her ear to the point of her chin. Earlier this evening when he had put his arms around and basically jumped out the window she had felt the heat of his body against hers, but the overall effect had been dulled somewhat by the throbbing in her leg, and the relief of being saved from what had seemed like disaster. This however, his very intentional caress was like fire that sent bursts of sensation throughout her body. She felt the throb of heat in her lower abdomen, pulling herself closer to him seemed purely instinctual. He seemed to call to her on a primal level that she didn’t understand. Whoa and that what just her cheek, what would happen if he touched anywhere else.

“Should we see, Felicity, what would happen if I touched you somewhere else?”

“I said that part out loud didn’t I?” This time when she dropped her head, it landed squarely on his chest, his very warm, hard, leather clad chest. How is this even real?

She felt his hand on her chin, lifting her face back up to his face. He quietly and cautiously moved his lips to hers. He stayed near her mouth without making the final descent. It took her moment to realize that he was waiting for her to complete their connection. She rose up just a fraction of an inch and suddenly his lips were on hers. 

She understands on a logical level what happens when two people kiss, a sudden release of oxytocin can create a feeling of connectedness. She had kissed plenty of guys and it had generally been on the range very to not quite pleasant. But this, this kiss, was different.

Suddenly all she could feel was him and his lips on hers. His left hand moved along her jaw as he further slanted over hers in order to deepen the kiss. His right hand was spread across her upper back and slowly lowered it to settle at the curve of her hip. He gently pulled her closer to him. Heat spiraled through her veins, leaving a scorching trail which all led to the pooling heat in her lower abdomen. Her only thought was to get closer to him. She moved her hands to the front of his jacket and slipped them around his back, pulling him closer, if that was even possible. She thought she might have heard him groan, when he pulled himself away. He took several steps back.

“I am glad that you are ok.” And with that he moved quickly through the window and up and out the fire escape. 

He was gone. Wow. She didn’t quite know how she was still standing. She fell back into the couch and finally gave into the desire to think about her day.

She had spent the most amazing hour with Oliver Queen. As she had left the coffee house and went about her day getting ready for the Gala, she felt like she was walking on air. Oliver Queen wanted to continue a conversation with her. It was so exciting. Their conversation had been so natural and easy and she really hadn’t had the opportunity to really think over the electricity that she felt both times they have touched hands. What was that, anyway?  
She had gone to the Gala with the thought of seeing Oliver at QC on Monday being first and foremost in her mind. Then, the impossible happened and the ceiling had collapsed above where she was standing. She had never felt more relieved than when she had seen the Vigilante fly into the room and stride purposefully in her direction. She had been out of breath since she had set eyes on him. 

And she had just spent the past several minutes with that same man, a man, by the way, who she did not know and yet felt perfectly comfortable smashing her face against his. So basically she found two men in one day who she felt stronger about than any other man in her past.

One thing she did know for certain…she was so screwed.


	4. Chapter Four: Queen Consolidated

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Oliver both struggle with the pull that they feel toward the other. What will happen when they are finally in the same room together again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I thought that this would be all in Oliver's POV, but the story made me add combination of the two. So you will get to hear Felicity as well as Oliver.

Felicity was fairly certain a swarm of something had taken up residence in her tummy. People always talked about butterflies in your tummy, but whatever was in hers certainly didn’t feel like butterflies. Unless her butterflies were angry, vengeful butterflies bent on bringing about her destruction. She had this growing feeling of anxiety rising since her green visitor had kissed her senseless and jumped through her window and escaped into the night. Wow….she must be anxious….her inner dialog always get melodramatic when she is nervous or anxious. She was sitting in her office looking through her to do list for the day and reviewing the cause of her current emotional state.

She had dressed this morning with the hope of seeing Oliver at some point during the day. She had spent time straightening her blond hair and had taken more care when she had pulled it back. She usually liked how she looked with it down, but having it down at work, would drive her nutty. She had worn a well-fitting charcoal gray pencil skirt with her best tailored button down blouse in a soft pink. She thought she looked good, but still work-worthy. She didn’t want to have to endure the leers of her more objectionable co-workers if she wore anything more “date-like”. Then she thought, what if Oliver thought she had dressed up for him? Why was she being so ridiculous? Why would e care what she was wearing?

She didn’t really know what was going on with her emotions. She had always had very tame and reasonable reactions to boys and then eventually men. In fact, she had felt really normal in her previous romantic attachments. She had a few crushes on boys in high school that didn’t go much further than holding hands and a kiss or two stolen on the bus to her school field trip to the Hoover Dam. She entered college at 16 and that understandably had a less than positive effect on her social life. Most college guys didn’t take too kindly to the age difference. But by the time she was 18 and had almost completed her Bachelor’s degree, she had her first real boyfriend. True, he turned out to be a deceitful, lying liar, but lots of girls had a crummy boyfriend here and there. But at the time, she had thought she was in love. She felt all the pangs of what she thought love should be. But nothing had prepared her for what she is feeling now and truthfully it was pissing her off!! Why did she have to feel such powerful things about two different men? Two men, by the way, who she not spent more than an hour with either of them. 

She rubbed her finger across her palm and remembered her conversation with Oliver Queen in the coffee house and subsequent handshake with electric consequences. That conversation was everything she never knew she needed. Not only was he not fazed by her inappropriate word choices and innuendo, he seemed amused, maybe even charmed. He was interested in her as well as being interesting to her. Of course, he was Oliver Queen. She had seen the tabloids over the years, before the boat accident. Oliver probably had more experience talking to beautiful women than she had talking to human beings. And with that thought, Felicity’s hopes were dashed. Of course, he was Oliver Queen, almost too beautiful to be human and she was still just Felicity, a genius with a compromised brain to mouth filter.

Felicity felt the glow of her memory of her first meeting with Oliver fade somewhat, when viewed in the harsh light of her personal reality. She had thought that she had never felt such a mental and emotional connection to anyone so quickly as she had felt to him. She instantly doubted that he could have possibly felt the same way. But upon further reflection, if she had really had such a powerful reaction to one man, how was it possible for her to have felt another powerful albeit a different kind reaction to a different man several hours later. 

She would be unable to find the appropriate words to describe her physical reaction to the Vigilante as she saw him striding across the debris strewn floor, his gaze apparently fixed on her. He looked as if there was nothing more important to him at that moment that to get to her. When he had knelt in front of her and removed the twisted metal and concrete that had trapped her, she had felt overwhelmed by his seeming gentleness. But when he had pulled her into her arms, the axis of her world shifted. She knew she had never had that intense of a physical reaction to any man’s proximity. It was just a hug really and yet her felt it in her bones. She blew out a low breath as she remembered the heat of that moment. 

Just the memory of him pulling her into his arms and leaping out of the window would have been enough to star in her fantasies for the foreseeable future. But then, there he had been, standing in her living room. His mere physical presence overwhelming the room. She hadn’t realized that her furniture was so small, he filled the space so definitively. Then she had realized, her room wasn’t small, he was just huge. It wasn’t just height, he was broad and powerful. When he moved to steady her, his gracefulness was evident. This was a man who exuded physical competence.

She hadn’t really understood the reason he moved in to kiss her. By that point she didn’t care. When their lips had met, all she had felt was fire and an almost uncontrollable need to bring him closer. She was almost glad when he broke away with a groan. She wasn’t certain she wouldn’t have dragged him back to her bedroom, if it had continued much longer….and she didn’t even know his name!!!

She had a powerful emotional reaction to Oliver and an intense physical reaction to the Vigilante and she could make sense of neither. 

Taking a deep breath, she decided she had to get going on her to do list for the day. She had a long list of projects that had been waiting for her this morning.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Oliver was pacing around his office like a bear in a cage. He had been on edge since he had left Felicity’s apartment on Saturday night. When he had kissed her, it had felt as if no force on earth could have stopped him. The pull he felt toward her was almost like gravity and he was almost powerless to stop it. He was in real danger of losing control and he certainly wouldn’t do that to her, not Felicity. He couldn’t explain why she was so different. He didn’t really even know her, but he felt different with her. 

Maybe that was it, he felt different and she felt different. He had had a history of being careless with the feelings of others. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about the other women in his life, it was just their feelings weren’t a high priority. Thinking about the other women in his life made him uncomfortable. He always felt like he owed lots of people, lots of apologies. But thinking of Felicity, made him want to be better. It was a little terrifying. 

He knew he was a wreck of a person right now. Nothing he did would make sense to anyone but him. Diggle had seemed to understand his mission, but Oliver had felt that Diggle saw Oliver as a responsibility. Dig’s eyes were wide open when he decided to be a part of Oliver’s team. What could he really offer someone as magnificent as Felicity? She was everything he could have ever dreamed of in one person, he wondered if she was real. Could he have imagined how charming and self-effacing she was? He knew how she had felt in his arms was real. He had never felt a physical intensity to that degree and he had lots of comparison material. 

He knew he had been an idiot in going back to her apartment after the explosion at the Gala, but he had felt the unbearable need to see that she was ok. He needed physical verification that she was safe and whole. He hadn’t really thought it through as he climbed through her window. 

But when he thought about, he realized that Felicity would certainly not know that who she had met on Saturday morning was the same man who kissed her on Saturday night. He felt a little guilty, which generally wasn’t hard for him, considering that guilt was his default setting. But this was something more.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that couldn’t do that to her. He couldn’t bring her closer to danger. He was too far gone to expect someone who was literal walking sunshine to be with him. He would never forgive himself if he dimmed any of her inherent brightness. 

He felt a deep wrenching and twisting in his gut as the realization that he would never have her in his arms again struck him. Is it possible to suffer withdrawal from a person who he met only days ago? He was so afraid that he was going to find out that the answer to that question is a resounding yes.

He was almost determined to not see Felicity again, when he realized that he had asked if could see her again at the coffee house, before the Gala, before the kiss. He actually hated to think that he might hurt her or make her feel as if he didn’t think she was worth fulfilling his earlier commitment. In that light, the answer was very clear. He would see her and they could talk and maybe they could be friends. But he certainly, NEVER, see her again as his green alter ego. That was just too dangerous.

Oliver thought of the best way to meet again, was to keep as much physical distance between them as possible. He knew how his body responded to hers and if they were going to remain just friends, he needed her far away from him, no matter how much he desperately wanted just the opposite.

Just the thought of being near her, caused his breath to stutter and his pants to tighten just a bit. “Damn, this is worse than being a teenager!” He swore out loud, to his empty office. He shifted a little uncomfortably in his seat and got his wayward body under control.

Yeah, he needed at least a desk between them at all times. He decided it would be better to call her up to his office. He could make sure to stay seated thus ensuring no physical contact. He just needed a plausible reason to get her up here.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Felicity was halfway through her to do list for the day and it was only 10 am, it was going to be a good day. Her to do list generally consisted of coding tasks that she would send along to the Hardware teams who were generally in a constant mode of server and network upgrade. She also had several current tasks open that included writing upgrades to the internal network and web security as well as the external firewalls. She was generally known as the cyber security expert, but occasionally she was used as a regular IT girl. She was the first one called when any of the executives had computer trouble. There had been a few times in the past, when the IT director had sent a lower level technician up to the executive floor and suffice it to say it never ended well. Which usually entailed an angry executive screaming and a red-faced technician running from the room with tears running down their face. It became the department directive to send Felicity to the executive floor for all computer emergencies. Even if those emergencies were really just “emergencies” such as a full mailbox, a frozen screen or an unplugged network connection. So it was no surprise when she received a call from Elaine, the receptionist on the executive floor.

“Felicity”, she heard Elaine on the other end, “Can you come up to our floor, dear?”

Elaine was about 65 and always made Felicity feel like she was her granddaughter. It was actually kind of sweet.

“Sure, Elaine! Where am I going this time?” Felicity asked quickly.

“Mr. Queen is having some trouble with his laptop. He said that you helped him with it before and since you had done such a great job before, he hoped you could help him again.” It sounded like Elaine was reading that sentence from a card. Felicity thought that she had repeated word for word what Oliver had told her. He heart had fluttered and her stomach dropped when she heard his name. The swarm of angry, vengeful butterflies were back and this time it felt like they brought weapons. Seriously, what was going on down there?

“Tell him I will be right up.” She said with a calm voice that made her so proud.

Felicity placed her palms on her desk and took several deep breaths. She stood and smoothed her skirt, grabbed her small tool kit and headed toward the elevator and pressed the button to the 20th floor. 

The elevator opened and Felicity walked out seeing Elaine at her wide, impressive desk. Elaine smiled with genuine warmth when she saw Felicity.

“Oh, Felicity dear, don’t you look lovely today. Is that a new blouse?” Elaine said kindly.

“Uhh…not really…but I don’t wear it to work very often.” Felicity stated, unable to hide the nerves in her voice.

“Well, it looks fantastic on you. You look wonderful in pink.” Elaine praised, just like a real grandmother.

“Thank you, Elaine, that is so kind. Is Mr. Queen expecting me?” Felicity queried.

“Yes dear. Head on down. I don’t think his assistant is at his desk, so just knock on his door. He knows you were on your way up.” Elaine said, still smiling kindly at her.

Felicity made her way down the hall. Oliver was currently in the office of the COO, Chief Operational Officer. He had taken that role while Mr. Steele continued in the role of CEO, until Oliver was ready to take the reins. At least that was the office gossip when Oliver had come back to Queen Consolidated.

She saw that, in fact, the assistant’s desk in front of the COO’s office was empty. She walked up to the door and knocked.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Oliver heard the knock and knew that Felicity was outside the door. He had specifically asked Elaine to ask for Felicity to come up when Steven, his assistant, was training with Walter’s assistant on the new financial tracking software on another floor. He didn’t know why he wanted it that way, it just seemed better in his mind to have privacy when he tried to convince Felicity and himself that they were only friends. Oh, this was going to suck!

“Come in “ Oliver called.

Felicity stepped through the door and all Oliver could do was stare. He cursed a blue streak in his mind. This was going to be so much harder than he thought. She was even more beautiful than he remembered from Saturday. How is that possible? Her skirt was hugging her petite but curving form, showcasing her long, beautiful legs, the pink of blouse brought even more color to her cheeks.

“Door open or closed?” She asked.

He realized he hadn’t said anything, when she the corners of her mouth pulled up into a little smile.

“Oliver?” She asked, tilting her head to side. It what might possibly be the cutest expression he has ever seen. 

“Oh, closed, will be fine. Thank you Felicity.” He said a little more intensely than he had expected. 

He knew he had made a terrible mistake when turned around to shut the door.

“Dear God”, he breathed. He could never unsee what she had just innocently shown him. All she had done was turn and close the door, but with her back completely toward him, he could see was her glorious backside. The view was unparalleled. How could someone so small have such amazing curves, from the strong curve of each calf up toward what might be the most delicious ass he has ever laid his eyes on. The curve of her hips up toward her graceful shoulder and then her beautiful sun-gold hair. He was willing to go out on a limb and say she was perfect.

She was only turned for a moment, but it was enough to rock him. He had a plan, they were only going to be friends. But how could he possibly be near her for any amount of time and not move closer. He felt that same inexorable pull that he had felt in her apartment on Saturday night. He looked down at his hands and took several breaths before he could look up with any amount of calm.

“What seems to be the trouble?” Felicity asked.

 

“What? No trouble, I was just thinking.” He stated so lamely he felt his cheeks flush. 

Felicity didn’t even try to hide her grin. “I meant with your computer. You needed help?” She held up her small tool-kit to show him.

“Right, sorry, I was distracted when you came in.” Oliver answered with more confidence this time. 

He needed to get this under control. All he had to think about was Felicity getting anywhere near the dark souls that inhabited his father’s list and he calmed right away. Calling on his years of social training provided by his mother, he plastered his most charming smile on his face and continued.

“Felicity, you did such a great job on my laptop on Saturday morning, I was hoping you could help me out again. It seems it still having some trouble connecting to the in house wireless network.” He was actually proud of how together he sounded.

“Luckily, I can help with that.” She said, but he noticed that she sounded a little unsure and possibly a little nervous.

She pulled a small Ethernet cable from her kit and came toward him. 

“Uhh...I am going to.... need to get back behind your desk for a moment. It will be easier to check your wifi settings if I connect to the network through the physical port.” Her voice sounded more nervous with each word.

His hopes of keeping a desk between them were quickly dashed. The nearer she got, the more he wanted to move toward her. It was actually more pronounced than when he was in her apartment. 

He pushed his chair back against the wall as she came forward. But it was when she placed a hand of the side of his chair and knelt down in front of him in order to place the cable into the wall, that it became unbearable. He stood too quickly and the hand she was using for balance on his chair was dislodged and she began to fall. He grabbed her shoulders to steady her and then brought her back to standing.

They were standing together, his hands on her upper arms which had once been there to steady her, but he had left them there. She was looking up at him with wide, darkened eyes. He could feel his own breath, heavier than usual.

“Felicity…” He said her name, because at this point it was the only word that mattered to him. His hands moved up to her jaw and held her on both sides as he gently brought his mouth to hers. Instant heat flared throughout his body. The need to touch her, envelop her, please her, was excruciating.

She responded with all the fever that he had felt in her the last time they had kissed. She pulled him closer, her hands moving over his shoulders and up into his hair. He groaned.

This time Felicity pulled back, essentially ending the best kiss of his life. He looked down into her passion glazed eyes, when he noticed a quick change of expression. There was a question there that wasn’t before.

“Oliver….you are very tall.” She said in such a strange way, almost like an accusation. 

“I guess I am.” He said with a question. He was puzzled by this change in her.

She moved away, smoothing her skirt, while taking several deep breaths. She looked up at him, clear panic in her eyes.

“Felicity, what's wrong?” He stepped toward her.

She retreated from his path. 

“Oliver, I am so sorry. Can you please excuse me? I really need to get back. Would it be ok if I send another technician down to help you?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but just fled his office shutting the door behind her.

He didn’t know what had happened. He sat heavily in his chair and put his head in his hands. 

“Damn it!” He said quietly to the empty office. There were so many things wrong with what he had just done. He had kissed her… again. He had told himself that he would keep them as friends. He would protect her from the darkness that surrounds him. The knot that had formed earlier in his stomach had reformed. But what about her? She seemed to feel the same pull that he did. Is it fair to make such a unilateral decision?

The knot in his stomach had grown into something like a Gordian knot of epic proportion. How could he possibly let her go? When it finally dawned on him. He couldn’t let her go. He would only be punishing both of them and he couldn’t do that to her. And with that thought, the knot loosened and then disappeared, replaced by something warm. She was it for him. Now he just had to convince her.


	5. Chapter Five: Verdant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity knows!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I wanted to thank everyone for reading and commenting on Finding Sunshine. 
> 
> I hope you like this chapter as much as I do. I am still mulling the idea of a epilogue for this story. I am not really sure it needs it. But let me know what you think.

“Frack, frack, frack!” Felicity paced the 5 steps it took to walk the length of her office, back and forth. She paused for a moment to take a deep breath, threw her hands up and started pacing again.

She was so mad at herself. She had spent hours late Saturday night, all through Sunday and into today worrying about how she felt about two different men. When they had been the same man the whole time!!! 

“Freaking Oliver Queen!!!” She growled out and continued to pace. 

It was when she was kissing him. She paused for a moment in her office, remembering that kiss, placing her hand over her chest. It had been the most amazing kiss. She could still feel the heat of his hands on her cheeks and the feel of his broad, well-muscled shoulders under her fingers. It was when the extreme intensity of kiss had peaked that she pulled back and looked up at Oliver. She was going to make a comment about something, honestly she didn’t remember what she was going to say, when she really noticed him and his physical presence.

It struck her than she had never seen Oliver standing up. They had met in the coffee house and spoken for an hour. When she left, he had stayed seated. When she had walked into his office today he was seated as well. Now she was standing in front of him, his hands on her and she was instantly transported to Saturday night, when another man had his hands on her face and had pulled her toward him.

What are the chances that she would be kissing two different men with the exact same physical proportions, who could elicit the same overwhelming responses from her that she had never felt prior? No the better explanation was that they were the same man!

“Damn him!!!” She gritted her teeth and slapped her desk hard and regretted it immediately. “Ow, ow, ow,” Now she was mad and had a sore hand. Why couldn’t he have told her who he was in her apartment on Saturday night? It would have been so easy, they were there together, alone. He could have spared a moment to pull down that hood and let her see him. 

Her mind slowly drifted back to the night of the Gala, where the Vigilante…no Oliver Queen….had flew….literally flew…into the broken building, striding with steely determination toward her, gently extricating her from the fallen debris, gathered her in his arms and leapt out the window getting her to safety. Felicity felt the heated wind of her anger dissipate, leaving her adrift in the sea of her complicated emotions. The force of his actions settling into her soul. Oliver had risked his life to save her own. He had jumped into a broken building seeking her and then saving her. 

Swamped with an overload of feelings, Felicity sat back down at her desk and let the air around her settle. She thought back on everything that she knew about the Vigilante. He seemed to be attempting to fix problems in the city that the police didn’t often have the opportunity to fix. She knows he had gone after the big fish that normal law enforcement, just can’t catch, or when they do catch them, no conviction comes, either due to suppressed evidence, intimated witnesses or plain old corruption. 

She knew she needed more information and a little distance. Her skin still heated, just by thinking about both of the kisses that she had shared with Oliver. At least she could be grateful that it was the same person. She didn’t have to think about having a traitorous heart or fickle body. 

First she would take care of the distance issue. She logged off her computer and gathered her things. She had several projects that could be completed over in Applied Sciences. They had several work stations dedicated to her cyber security protocols and she often spent time in and out of that department consulting on various coding projects. She made plans with her IT director to work there for the rest of the week. 

Distance addressed and solved, she moved onto the next issue: Information. After she arrives home that evening, Felicity sets up her laptop and begins adding extra layers of firewall security to her current protocols. She runs some tests and runs some code to debug the errors. After an hour she is happy with the security of the current settings on her laptop and internet access. She has piggybacked onto a remote Ukrainian satellite and hopped across the globe. No one could track her back, at least not in the time frame she will be online.  
She begins running searches on what the Vigilante has been doing for the past several months. She hacks banks and law enforcement agencies. She loops back into some shadier business deals that have the feel of the underworld. 

This is how she spends the next 3 days. Tuesday she wakes up, gets ready, goes to work at her temporary station in Applied Sciences, goes home, gets some take-out and hacks until her eyes go blurry. Wednesday and Thursday follow the exact pattern. By early Thursday night, she feels pretty good about the Vigilante. He has stopped some truly hateful, vile creatures who masquerade as human beings. And from the trail that, she would have hidden much better, he takes nothing for himself. What she finds is that he is truly trying to help people and save the city. She finds herself admiring his goals, if not, perhaps his methods. One thing she absolutely knew for certain, whatever computer set up he had was woefully out of date. She was almost embarrassed for him, just from a computer nerd point of view.

She still has at least an hour or two before her eyes will completely glaze over and require a break from the screen. So she decides to utilize that time to see if she can figure out where the Vigilante is working from. She figures that he must have a base somewhere. She had already plotted all of the vigilante sightings and places where bad guys had been found. On a map this brought up a relatively benign mix of locations and times. However, once she entered “Oliver Queen” into her search. It all falls into place.

“Gotcha!” She says to herself and does a congratulatory fist pump. She shuts down her searches, closes her laptop and heads to bed with plans for her next meeting with Oliver swirling in her mind.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Oliver was edgy and uncomfortable. He had been feeling off since Felicity had fled from his office…from him. It had taken one phone call to find out that she was working in Applied Sciences for the next few days. He didn’t need to pursue it any further. He definitely didn’t need a manual to decipher that signal, she needed space. He was willing to give it her, even though it made him decidedly uncomfortable. He felt like he had found his own personal sunshine and now it was lost to him after only basking in it for a few moments. He felt a little hollow, knowing that something was missing. 

He had tried to shake it off and let it go. Surely, he was over-reacting, no one felt this way after only knowing someone a few days. And it would work, for an hour or two, then something would remind him of her and the spiral would start again. By Friday he had decided that he needed to do something about it. He had to be at the club later tonight to help Tommy, he had promised him last week, after several of no-shows on his part. He had found that sometimes juggling the life of Oliver Queen and the Vigilante was unwieldly. He needed to see her. He was planning on seeing her in her office on Monday and hopefully she would be able to forgive him for kissing her in his office without any warning. 

He was in the lair on Friday evening, grinding a couple new specialist arrowheads , when he felt the text notification buzz in his pocket. 

Unknown: Hey, it’s Felicity

He smiled gleefully at the text and tapped out a response.

Oliver: Hey, everything ok?

Felicity: Are you wondering how I got your number?

Oliver: Not really. I have seen what you can do with a computer.

Felicity: Oh, I had a whole apology/explanation thing planned.

Oliver: Why apologize? I want you to have my number.

Felicity: You make it very hard to stay mad at you.

Oliver: Are you mad at me?

Felicity: We should talk.

Oliver: I’ll meet you anywhere

Felicity: How about now?

Oliver: Where?

Felicity: I am upstairs, right now.

He was confused. Upstairs? What is she talking about?

Oliver: At QC?

Felicity: No, I am at Verdant. 

Realization quickly hit Oliver over the head. If she was upstairs, that she knew he was downstairs….Felicity knew. 

Oliver: I’ll be see you in a minute.

Oliver put his phone back in his pocket. Part of him felt ridiculous. He knew that Felicity was one of the smartest people he had ever met. He should have known that she would figure out who he was. It was not like he had been able to keep his distance either. But now that she knew, he somehow felt a bit lighter, a weight lifted. 

He quickly changed into his normal club attire, grey fitted suit, white shirt, silver blue tie. He had already planned on spending a portion of the evening upstairs with Tommy. He took a deep breath and headed up the stairs and through the door.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Verdant was already pretty full when Felicity had gotten inside. She knew that meeting Oliver at Verdant was a bit dramatic on her part. But she wanted him to know and get used to the idea that she knew who and what he did before they were actually within arm’s reach. She had already had 5 days to get acclimated to his identity. He may need some time to get used to the idea that she knows his secret.

She also knew that if she was going to do this at Verdant, she was going to have to be in club appropriate attire. When she had left her apartment that evening her closet looked like someone had picked it up and shook it until everything was on the floor, trailing out into her bedroom. But she had felt good about what dress she had finally chosen. She had to admit to herself that she had chosen it somewhat by the hope that it might drive Oliver just a bit crazy. Her dress was deep red with sweetheart neckline, cut outs at the side that exposed a decent amount of her ribcage on either side. The skirt was on the almost too short side, but it was floaty and swirled around her legs. She loved how she felt in this dress. If a few guys’ gazes at the bar were any indication, she looked pretty good in the dress as well.

Now that she had set this all in motion she was, all at once, gut-wrenchingly nervous. She had thrown herself into her work at QC and the extra investigative work at home to keep herself from going crazy. But she also had used it as a distraction. She missed Oliver. She knew she was being ridiculous. She had only met him just a few times, but each of those times had some sort of world-tilting connection physical or otherwise. He hadn’t tried to find her or come through her window like he had on the night of the benefit, and she would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that she had looked for him each night, even if it was just for a minute.

She felt him, before she heard him. The electricity that she associated only with him, began zinging up her spine. She quickly turned and found him closing the distance between them. 

All the breath left her lungs in one quick gust. “Whoa”, she spoke only to herself. He was beyond beautiful, with is warm blue eyes, chiseled jaw with that tantalizing scruff. His powerful shoulder and chest were showcased in a miracle of tailoring. She found herself rubbing her fingers together as she itched to touch him.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

He made it up the stairs and onto the dance floor he scanned the floor and then the various seating areas. It was then his eye was drawn to long fall of waving sun-gold hair. The golden hair rested upon a nearly perfectly exposed back. Her hair ended near what he would expect would be her bra line, if there had been a bra. Thank heaven for small mercies that there wasn’t. His eye continued downward to the curve of her waist, where the dress flared into a short floaty skirt to highlight long toned legs. He stood still a moment, just to revel in being near her. He was soothed just by seeing her. 

As if she sensed his perusal, she turned. If he had thought she was alluring from the back, it was nothing from how she looked from the front. His jaw dropped and he knew his eyes gotten wider. He couldn’t remember ever having such a visceral reaction to anyone….ever. He just stood there, getting aroused, just by looking at her. He felt thirteen all over again. He looked down and took a breath to get himself under control. But he knew that she was mad at him. She had told him so. And he knew he deserved it. She had somehow puzzled out that he was the Vigilante. Which also means that she knows that he kissed her TWICE and both times as different men. He was just hoping that she didn’t slap him. Although he probably deserved it. 

Upon looking up, he noticed a stunned look on Felicity’s face and she was rubbing her fingers together. He moved toward her as if by an unseen force. It felt as if the earth itself had tilted and pulled them together in the middle of Verdant. It was all he could do, to not pull her into him, but he did grab her hand in greeting.

“Hey” His voice was gruff and heavier than he expected.

“Hey”, she said almost shyly, but then she looked up and made eye contact. “Is there somewhere quiet we can talk?”

“Sure, let’s head up to the office.” He kept her hand in his and led her up the stairs to the office. He unlocked the door and allowed her to enter first as he closed the door behind him. She walked into the room and he stayed with his back against the door.

He knew what was coming. She was there to tell him she knew his alter identity. It seems like he should feel panic at being metaphorically unmasked or at least afraid for her reaction. But all he felt was relief. The itchy uncomfortable feeling that has been nagging him over the past several days is gone, relieved, just by being near her.

“So, how did you figure it out?” He thought he would at least have the nerve to start the conversation.

“Oliver, I am not certain how you expected me not to notice. It’s not like there are tons of men around with your…..ummmm…general proportions.” She waved in the general direction of all him and blushed beginning at her cheeks spreading up to her forehead and down her neck disappearing somewhere beneath the low neckline of her dress. Suddenly his mouth went dry and his breath hitched in his chest. He took a few steps closer to her, still several feet away.

“And…” she stopped as if weighing her words before she said them. 

“And what, Felicity?” He noticed that she took a step closer to him.

“It feels different when you kiss me. It didn’t make sense that two men, who are exactly the same shape and size would kiss me and make me feel….well whatever I feel…and not be the same person.” She had rushed out her words, seemingly to get it over with, the same principle of ripping off a band-aid…all at once.

She looked up at him and he was lost. He read everything he needed to see in her eyes and smile.

“Felicity, it is the same for me.” Oliver confessed as he moved into her personal space. 

++++++++++++++++++

He pulled her into his arms, both moaned at the contact. It seemed that the 5 days of separation had only heightened that initial attraction. She felt him everywhere, cocooned by him, surrounded, enveloped. She was briefly aware of an overwhelming feeling of belonging and that she would never feel more at home anywhere than within the circle of his arms. These realizations were quickly made and just as quickly fried into nothingness when he gently placed his hands on either side of her jaw and angled her head up, just so. He moved his own mouth deliberately toward her own very willing lips. 

As soon as their lips met, the electricity, that had been there from their first touch, ignited into a wild storm pulsating between them. He slanted his mouth over hers, just as she moved to take his lower lip lightly between her teeth, nipping gently and then soothing with her tongue, causing him to moan into her mouth. She pulled him even closer, her back arching, pressing deeper into his broad expanse of chest. He responded in kind, his hands dropping to her shoulders, his right hand pressed between her shoulder blades increasing the pressure between their chests, hers soft and yielding his warm and firm, causing a tightly wound coil of heat and longing to tug at her lower abdomen. His left hand moved down along her spine, inducing more electricity between them. His hand paused at the curve of her hip. Sensing his need for her consent, she gently rolled her hips into his, as a way to let him know that they were in this together and also because she needed more of everything. More friction, more heat, more pressure….more him.   
Understanding her acceptance, Oliver moved his hand firmly onto the glorious curve of her backside. His hand finally reaching the destination that had kept his dreams interesting for the past 5 days. He wanted more, he needed to feel her skin against him. She seemed to have the same idea, as she was currently pulling his shirt out from his pants. She made a low moan when her fingers made contact with the skin above his belt. He broke off the kiss, in order to trace the line of her jaw and neck with his mouth and tongue, eliciting more of those moans from her that drove his arousal higher than he ever thought possible. He was on fire and literally ached to touch and taste Felicity anywhere there was exposed skin. Her hands moved up under his shirt just as he moved his right hand along the strap at her shoulder and as his left hand was lifting her leg up around his waist, thus increasing friction, pressure and contact, all of which seemed necessary for survival at the moment.

“Uh hmm”, Oliver barely heard the sound. It certainly didn’t register that is was something that should stop him from his present course with Felicity.

“Uh hmm”, much louder this time, Oliver finally realized that they were no longer alone in the office. 

“Oliver!” Oliver turned quickly, completely obscuring Felicity from view. He saw Tommy standing in the office doorway. He finally registered where they were and what they were about to do in the Verdant office with just a door separating them from 500 people and a public indecency charge.

Glaring at Tommy, “Tommy…did you need something?” Oliver said a little petulantly, desperately trying to get himself under control. He could feel Felicity behind him doing the same thing, if the moderate deep breathing techniques he heard and felt behind him were any indication.

“Uhh, yeah. There were some problems with the last liquor shipment. I wanted to go over them with you.” Tommy said with a huge grin on his face. “Meet me downstairs when you are more available.” Tommy practically giggled as he walked out the door, shutting it after him.

He felt her head drop against his shoulder blades. He quickly turned around to see that she had basically put herself to rights again. Her dress was smooth around her hips and legs, bearing no trace of the fact that it had been bunched up high on her thighs, as her leg had been twined around his hip. He felt a flash of increased arousal spike just at that thought. He watched as she reached around her back and fixed the straps of her dress. 

“Do you need a minute?” She asked innocently, waving her hand in his general direction. He knew she was asking about putting his clothing to rights, but his eyes went even wider and he closed the small distance between them, bending down to whisper in her ear.

“Oh Felicity”, His voice husky and rough. “I will need, so much more than a minute.” 

Her reaction was better than anything he could have imagined. A pink flush stole across her cheeks, her mouth dropped open slightly and her eyes darkened a little more. All he wanted was to continue what they started, but somewhere more private.

She placed a hand on his chest, looking directly into his eyes. He could swear she saw deeper into him than he thought possible.

“Later”, She practically purred at him. The tightening in his pants that had just begun to recede, increased immediately. 

“But first I want to see your lair…oh and by the way…lair is not a euphemism for something else. Not that I don’t want to see…you know what nevermind. Can we go downstairs? 

He chuckled at her innuendo but also gave her a long look and he could see the determination there. He had decided then and there that she was a formidable and possibly necessary partner for him.

So he grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together and led the way downstairs.

The End

**Author's Note:**

> Come by and say Hi on Tumblr pinklassie.tumblr.com


End file.
